Preparing for Death
by When Darkness Rises
Summary: "I am God! A new world shall be reborn beneath my feat, powered the blood of the guilty! What can a weak miniskirt clad girl do to stop God?" Hotaru must fix her mistake and put the souls to rest.


**Edited 2/5/11: I thought I caught all the mistakes before originally posting it. Seems I was wrong. Well, I hope I caught them all this time. Please, let me know if you find any. :)**

**Ok, I looked up how the shinigami king looked, since it wasn't shown in the anime. (At least I don't think so.) Thus his design is of my own creation. :D BTW, Sailor Moon is mostly AU. Without further ado,**

_"Death is a debt we all must pay." —Euripides_

**Preparing for Death**

Only those with the eyes of a shinigami may be granted the gift of seeing the fleeting lifespan. Thus Ryuk's cackling laughter as Light plotted the death of L. Ryuk bit into an apple, devouring half in one bite. A pleasant day would be an understatement. A glorious day, a sad day, a day filled with laughter. Another bite and the apple vanished. He laughed again.

"Shut up, Ryuk."

But he couldn't stop.

* * *

It was desolate, always has been in the Shinigami realm. As a kid she played among bones and rubble with the more juvenile shinigami. She was grown now, violet dress adorned instead of a tattered shirt. Goosebumps crawled along her pale flesh. She willed her body not to shiver; not to show weakness in front of the creature that made her life hell years ago.

_He can't hurt me anymore._

"Princess … My dear sweet princess, step forward." Hotaru appeared before the King of Death. "You desired an audience?"

He was just like she remembered, not a day aged. A frayed cape draped over his gangly body and lengthy arms. Beneath the tilted crown, an ashen mane swirled down to his skeletal hips. His large colorless eyes stared down at her, filled divine power, far more than his subjects could ever dream of.

"As the link between the Shinigami and the Moon Realm, I have come. The human mortal, Light Yagami, needs to be put to a stop. Permanently."

"I recall that Queen Serenity wouldn't approve of such a harsh punishment. Besides, the mortal has caused quite an amusement among my shinigami. They hadn't had this much fun since—"

"Quiet!" The room went silent. All eyes immediately turned to her with intense interest. Hotaru felt breeze whistle around her body, bringing the sand and decay with it. "As the Soldier of Destruction, it is my duty to make decisions concerning relations with the Shinigami. I didn't come to _ask for permission_. I've come as a _warning_. The next time this genocidal terror threatens humanity, it is you who will answer for the crimes. For now, I will eliminate the threat and those who stand in my way."

The king laughed. "As you wish, my daughter."

* * *

A black cat followed the humming girl, azure eyes luminous in the floating shadows. "You don't have to do this," reminded Luna. "Serenity will understand."

Hotaru kept walking. The shadows spun and whispered in her ears. Luna always wondered what the shadows said. She chalked it up to another mysterious ability.

"We all understand. This L fellow seems to have—"

She halted and fixed her stare at the crescent moon. She shrugged the shadows off, wishing for their screams to stop. "This mess is my fault. I'm the one who has to fix it. I owe Queen Serenity that much, Luna."

Luna's whiskers twitched as she saw Hotaru's bittersweet smile. She hopped atop the stone fence. "I'll be waiting here. One last thing though, nobody blames you."

* * *

Light heard the stairs creak. He sighed. Couldn't his mother or Sayu leave him alone for once? He repeated the process of hiding the death note inside the desk drawer. Quickly, as the steps grew closer, he drew out a math text book, regular notebook, and calculator. If it wasn't for the nasty smug gleam in his eyes, he would like a typical homework-bound genius.

The person knocked, followed by a female voice. "Hello?" It wasn't his mother, Sayu or Misa.

Light spun around in his chair to face the door. He glared at Ryuk to stop laughing. For once, the annoying laughter stopped. "Who is it?"

"Mrs. Sachiko let me in. My name is Hotaru Tomoe."

_Fool. Telling me your name like that. _

"What do you want?"

"My death note back."

His eyes went wide in shock. "Ryuk!" He snarled lowly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

He shrugged. "You never asked."

There was a violet crackle along the door knob as Hotaru let herself in. He was expecting a monster like Ryuk or Rem, instead a thinly girl around Sayu's age stood before him. She had on a black turtleneck with a pink bunny stitched in middle and a plaid skirt; harmless. He allowed himself a low snigger. What was he afraid of?

"Ryuk," he said casually, ignoring the annoyed girl. "I thought a human's memories are erased once they no longer have the notebook."

Hotaru smiled at the unanswered question and asked one of her own. "More importantly, Ryuk, pray tell, how did my notebook fall into your hands?"

He cackled. "Sidoh is a terrible gambling man."

Light knew this girl was trouble, being able to casually converse with a god of death without flinching. She needed to go; die immediately. While the other two carried on a conversation, he brought out his death note and pen. He swiftly wrote _Hotaru_ _Tomoe_ in large cursive letters. He listened to them talk while calmly waiting for the forty seconds to pass. Did the girl not notice her name being written, that she'll die soon?

Thirty-five seconds

The girl pursed her lips. "I thought Sidoh was safe to leave it with." Her eyes turned a deep violet, pupils gone. "Alas…" Her voice became deep, still feminine. Dark mist surrounded her, clothes misshaped to an embellished sailor uniform.

_Is this one of L's tests? I've already checked for cameras and audio bugs. _

Twenty seconds.

She frowned deeply. "All of the souls of people who you have killed, they fall on my shoulders, they scream in my ears. It's my fault millions have died."

Eleven seconds.

"Yet I am not alone in this guilt. Do you understand, Light Yagami?"

No answer.

Three seconds.

Sailor Saturn still stood firmly, miniskirt and all. Light crinkled his brow and checked his watch.

_She gave me a false name. That's it._

"I said: Do you_ understand, Light Yagami_?" Her tone went cold and bitter. She lifted her hand, and the death note shot towards it. It hovered open-faced slightly above her left palm, pages finally settling down. "All the terrors you've brought on, the genocide and fear you have produced… Do you feel even an ounce of guilt; regret? _Answer me, Light Yagami!_"

He leaped from the chair. "Of course not," he said in a low chuckle, transforming to a maniacal laughter. "I _am God! _A new world shall be reborn beneath my feat, powered the blood of the guilty!" He huffed, now smirking. "What can a _weak miniskirt clad girl_ do to stop God?"

"I am no girl."

She lowered her arm, floating death note drifting down with her gloved hand. A small orb of white light emitted from the center fold. Her right hand pressed down on the glowing orb and brought forth a staff. By the end, she wielded a glaive.

"I am the birthed forbidden product of both realms; the Soldier of Destruction, bond to the duty of my Queen Serenity. Behold the power of Silence and Ruin, cursed human."

Ryuk causally bit into an apple, enjoying the show unfolding. "Well, well, I haven't seen you like this in a long time, Sailor Saturn. Not since the day you left us."

She cast a sad smile at the shinigami. "Perhaps we shall play a game another time."

Ryuk nodded and fell back to an audience's role.

Sailor Saturn dark eye's fell back to her panicking victim. She spoke, now an eerie melody playing delicately in Light's ears. _**"Light Yagami prepare for death… but don't bother praying for a pure rebirth… only torment awaits the wicked and cursed…"**_

With famed words, she brought down her glaive.

Small tears left her closing eyes.

"Ryuk… one day, too far from now, I will join him. When that day comes, I wonder, what will I do?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

**So, my fabulous audience, what do you think? It started as a simple 'Hotaru kills Light' drabble in my head, but things happen, yes? Same concept, just more detailed. I've realized something though, my Sailor Moon fanfictions, mostly unuploaded, are AU. Hm. One last thing,**

**Should I make a fanfic of lil' Hotaru growing up in the shinigami realm? **


End file.
